Not Quite Cinderella
by jooliahoolia
Summary: Lavender Brown is thrilled for the Yule Ball. Finally, she's going to make her debut as the It girl she always knew she would be. Unfortunately, life doesn't seem to have be on the same page.


There are a few days that should stand out in every girl's life. Her wedding, the day the perfect man proposes marriage, her first kiss and her first dance. Lavender Brown subscribed to this theory wholeheartedly, and, not yet knowing that nothing you dream about is ever actually as magical or romantic (at least in secondary school), she expected all her dreams to come true at the Yule Ball.

First, she had the perfect date, or almost the perfect date. Like almost every other girl at Hogwarts that year, Lavender originally wanted to accompany Cedric Diggory to the ball, but, of course, he didn't know her. Lavender cried in the privacy afforded by her pillow when she heard that he had asked Cho, but the next day she put on her most alluring smile and set about finding a new guy. She knew she'd have best luck with the boys in her own house.

Neville was definitely a no-go; the boy was a complete dork. Dean talked about soccer too much. Ron was as big a idiot as Neville, though slightly cuter and tall, which was a definite plus. Harry was a champion, but she didn't like him that much-he was kind of bigheaded. Let Parvati do the social climbing, Lavender just wanted a cute Prince Charming. Enter Seamus Finnegan. The Irish boy was cute, he thought Harry was bigheaded too, and the two had been semi-friends for a while. Lavender was quick, perhaps too quick, to say yes when he asked her after Divination on December 14th.

For the ball itself, Lavender wore her curly hair up in an elaborate updo festooned with yellow flowers that matched her dress robes. She made Seamus meet her in the front hall just so he could see her float down the stairs in all her glory. Yes, she looked like a princess and he like a prince, and she knew that this was going to be her night.

Until it wasn't. Seamus barely talked during dinner, instead staring red-faced at his food. She wanted to draw him out of his uncharacteristic shell, but she couldn't think of anything to say either. Even worse, her palms were starting to sweat. How unromantic was that? She kept wiping them on her napkin, but it did no good. How could she dance now?

She needn't have worried, because it turned out that Seamus could not dance either. He was reluctant to join in the mesh of spinning couples, and when he did he was even more awkward than Neville, who she could see stepping on Ginny Weasley's feet across the room. Seamus kept moving his hands (which were even sweatier than hers and might leave greasy handprints on her beautiful new robes) around uncomfortably. He hadn't stepped on her yet, but he was spending all his time staring down at their feet, not gazing soulfully into her eyes like she imagined he would. And in her heels, she was taller than he was! The song lasted for what felt like an unbearably awkward eternity before they finally headed back to the table, for another uncomfortable non-conversation.

Lavender felt tears welling up in her eyes, and before she knew it one had splashed onto the table. Seamus looked even more uncomfortable, but he tentatively reached out a hand to comfort her.

"Lav?" he said. "I'm really sorry if this is my fault. I didn't want to step on your foot."

She was embarrassed, but quickly recovered. "It's nothing you did, just the song. It was so sad! But tell you what, let's just dance during the fast songs. I don't think I'm ready for slow dancing yet."

For the next fast song, they were among the first out on the dance floor, laughing, singing along and thrashing around wildly. When they returned, hot and sweaty, to the table, they no longer had difficulty talking.

And so the night, that had looked to be a disaster, passed smoothly, with fast dancing and crazy conversations. Lavender was slightly disillusioned about the romantic side of things, but she decided to be practical. There would probably not be a kiss tonight, but that could wait until she was older, perhaps sixteen. Right now, she was content to enjoy a beautiful night with a good friend,


End file.
